• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.28-51
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• 2018

Graphitic carbon nitride ($g-C_3N_4$) as a fascinating visible light active semiconductor photocatalyst has medium band gap, non-toxic nature, stable chemical structure and high thermal stability. Recently, intensive researches are focused on photocatalytic activity of $g-C_3N_4$ for wastewater treatment. This review demonstrates latest progress in fabrication of graphitic carbon nitride $C_3N_4$ incorporated nanocomposite to explore photocatalytic ability for water purification. The $g-C_3N_4$-based nanocomposites were categorized as $g-C_3N_4$ metal-free nanocomposite, noble metals/$g-C_3N_4$ heterojunction, non-metal doped $g-C_3N_4$, transition and post transition metal based $g-C_3N_4$ nanocomposite. Apart from fabrication methods, we emphasized on elaborating the mechanism of activity enhancement during photocatalytic process.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.24-32
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• 2023

Continuous increase of domestic meat consumption has inevitably increased generation of livestock manure and caused severe environmental impacts on ecosystem and human beings. This work produced biochar from cattle manure samples with different composting aging stages and investigated the properties of the produced biochar. The result of thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal decomposition of the manure initiated at <600℃. The biochar yield was higher for the manure with a longer pre-composting period due to the elimination of microbially metabolized carbons during composting process. The result of FT-IR analysis showed that the number of surface functional groups were reduced during pyrolysis while enhancing the graphitic structures of the carbon framework. Manure samples tended to leach out N and P in leaching tests, with its amount higher for aged one than fresh one. However, their leaching was substantially suppressed when the manure was produced into biochar. In XPS spectra, it was found that N and P in the manure incorporated into biochar surface to form N-doped graphitic carbon and P-N-moieties, respectively. The findings of this work suggest that the thermochemical process can be of a viable option to valorize into biochar for potential environmental applications as well as to alleviate undesired nutrients loading to the environment.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.408-415
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• 2023

The formation of bonding configurations such as pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and graphitic-N by nitrogen doping plays a crucial role in imparting distinct physical properties to carbon nanomaterials. In this study, we propose a simple and cost-effective approach to regulate nitrogen dopant configurations in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by mixing melamine as a dopant source. We employed three distinct mechanical mixing techniques, namely magnetic stirring, bath sonication and tip sonication. The higher the ratio of melamine to CNT, the higher the ratio of Pyrrolic-N, and when mixed through stirring, the highest ratio of Pyridinic-N was shown. The facile method proposed in this study, which can easily form various types of nitrogen dopants in carbon nanotubes, is expected to facilitate the application of nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.165-171
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• 2013

Nanostructured pure a-C and nitrogen doped a-C: N thin films with small particle size of, ~50 nm were obtained by Aerosol-assisted CVD method from the natural precursor camphor oil. Five samples were prepared for the a-C and a-C: N respectively, with the deposition temperatures ranging from $400^{\circ}C$ to $600^{\circ}C$. At high temperature, the AFM clarifies an even smoother image, due to the increase of the energetic carbon ion bombardment at the surface of the thin film. An ohmic contact was acquired from the current-voltage solar simulator characterization. The higher conductivity of a-C: N, of ${\sim}{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ is due to the decrease in defects since the spin density gap decrease with the nitrogen addition. Pure a-C exhibit absorption coefficient, ${\alpha}$ of $10^4cm^{-1}$, whereas for a-C:N, ${\alpha}$ is of $10^5cm^{-1}$. The high ${\sigma}$ value of a-C:N is due to the presence of more graphitic component ($sp^2$ carbon bonding) in the carbon films.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2018

In this study, we report on successful attempt towards the synthesis of sulfur self-doped $g-C_3N_4$ by directly heating thiourea in air. The synthesized materials were characterized using UV-vis spectral technique, FT-IR, XRD and TEM analysis. Further, the obtained material shows an excellent detection of carcinogenic TNP(Tri nitro phenol) in the presence of 10-fold excess of various other common interferences. The strong inner filter effect and molecular interactions(electrostatic, ${\pi}-{\pi}$, and hydrogen bonding interactions) between TNP and the $S-g-C_3N_4$ Nano sheets led to the fluorescence quenching of the $S-g-C_3N_4$ Nano sheets with an excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards TNP compared to that of other nitro aromatics under optimal conditions and the detection limit calculated was found to be 6.324 nM for TNP. The synthesized nanocomposite provides a promising platform for the development of sensors with improved reproducibility and stability for ultra-sensitive and selective sensing of TNP.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.225-235
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• 2022

It includes the synthesis of pristine ZnO nanoparticles and a series of Ag-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles was carried out by reflux method by varying the amount of silver (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9% by mol.). The morphology of these nanoparticles was investigated by SEM, XRD and FT-IR techniques. These techniques show that synthesized particles are homogenous spherical nanoparticles having an average particle size of about 50-100 nm along with some agglomeration. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnO nanoparticles and Ag doped ZnO nanoparticles were investigated via photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) as a standard dye. The data from the photocatalytic activity of these nanoparticles show that 7% Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibit much enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared to pristine ZnO nanoparticles and other percentages of Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Furthermore, 7% Ag-doped ZnO was made composites with sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride by physical mixing method and a series of nanocomposites were made (3.5, 7.5, 25, 50, 75% by weight). It was observed that the 25% composites exhibited better photocatalytic performance than pristine S-g-C 3 N 4 and pure 7% Ag-doped ZnO. Tauc's plot also supports the photodegradation results.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.393-399
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• 2016

We have successfully fabricated 3D (3-dimensional) nanostructures of $TiO_2$ coated with a $g-C_3N_4$ layer via hydrothermal and sintering methods to enhance photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Due to the coupling of $TiO_2$ and $g-C_3N_4$, the nanostructures exhibited good performance as the higher conduction band of $g-C_3N_4$, which can be combined with $TiO_2$. To fabricate 3D nanostructures of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$, $TiO_2$ was first grown as a double layer structure on FTO (Fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrate at $150^{\circ}C$ for 3 h. After this, the $g-C_3N_4$ layer was coated on the $TiO_2$ film at $520^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. As-prepared samples were varied according to loading of melamine powder, with values of loading of 0.25 g, 0.5 g, 0.75 g, and 1 g. From SEM and TEM analysis, it was possible to clearly observe the 3D sample morphologies. From the PEC measurement, 0.5 g of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ film was found to exhibit the highest current density of $0.12mA/cm^2$, along with a long-term stability of 5 h. Compared to the pristine $TiO_2$, and to the 0.25 g, 0.75 g, and 1 g $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ films, the 0.5 g of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ sample was coated with a thin $g-C_3N_4$ layer that caused separation of the electrons and the holes; this led to a decreasing recombination. This unique structure can be used in photoelectrochemical applications.